Over 30,000 people join annual AIDS Walk in LA
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Hollywood movie stars, California gubernatorial candidate and other celebrities joined over 30,000 participants for the annual AIDS Walk Sunday in West Hollywood to raise money for AIDS victims.
This is the 25th anniversary of the AIDS Walk nationwide. Similar rallies were held in San Francisco, New York and over 100 cities in the United States on Sunday.
The Walk stared at 10 a.m. at West Hollywood Park and headed south on La Cienega Boulevard, west on Beverly Boulevard and return to the park in the afternoon.
Celebrities attended the event were Felicity Huffman, Aaron Carter in "Dancing with the Stars," Mary Louise Parker in "Weeds," Darryl Stephens in "Noah's Arc," George Takei in "Star Trek" and John Lloyd Young of the original Broadway production of "Jersey Boys."
Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land were present. Villaraigosa also talked about the AIDS crisis in Los Angeles.
Colin Weil, chief operating officer of AIDS Walk in Los Angeles, told Xinhua that Los Angeles is the city that started the AIDS Walk 25 years ago, now rallies and talks have been held in over 100 U.S. cities.
He said Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York are three major cities with largest scale of rallies and every year, the three cities would raise about 15 million dollars for AIDS prevention and treatment.
According to Weil, there are about 60,000 people with HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. It is important to raise awareness of AIDS.
"People came out to show their concern on HIV and AIDS and their passion to fight against the spread of the disease," said Weil.
Weil said the AIDS Walk in Los Angeles would expect to raise about 3.15 million dollars, and nationwide, about 25 million dollars could be raised.
He said it is also an opportunity for the participants to raise awareness of government officials on the public health problem.
Since 1985, the event has raised more than 63 million dollars for HIV programs and services throughout Los Angeles County, and has grown into one of the largest AIDS fundraising events in the country, statistics showed.
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